


Forming An Alliance

by Eustacia Vye (eustaciavye)



Category: Sword Art Online
Genre: Aincrad arc, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-11-13
Updated: 2013-11-13
Packaged: 2018-01-01 10:05:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1043536
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/eustaciavye/pseuds/Eustacia%20Vye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Going solo into dungeons wasn't always safe in this game. Sometimes backup was a good thing.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Forming An Alliance

**Author's Note:**

  * For [amaresu](https://archiveofourown.org/users/amaresu/gifts).



Being alone meant that there was no way to see someone else get hurt because of him. Kirito was certain he was making the right decision, especially when he heard of groups taking on dungeons that were too difficult for them. Just thinking about seeing avatars fracture and pixellate made his chest hurt. They were real people somewhere, slowly wasting away in the real world and then suddenly dying, leaving their families devastated. Kirito didn't like to think of his own family, how they might (or might not be) coping without him. It hurt too much to think about. It was easier to think of the next monster or the next level to attain on his way out of this death game.

Kirito was planning to collect some rare ores to trade when he heard combat up ahead. This particular floor wasn't usually too difficult for midrange players, so he didn't head over right away. He wasn't a killstealer, no matter what people might have thought of Beaters. After a minute, there was panicked shouting and screaming. It probably was a low level player getting in over their head, then; he saw that far too often on these floors as time went on. They were too impatient to wait for the armies to clear out the high level dungeons, wanting to get home. He couldn't blame them, but caution would be better for their survival.

He broke out into a run before he realized what he was doing, drawing his sword. The clearing where the fight was taking place was up ahead, and he burst into it with a cry to help battle the creature fighting the player.

It was a Killer Mantis, which he figured he could beat pretty easily. When he was able to circle the beast, he realized he was fighting with Asuna. He should have recognized the red and white uniform of the Knights of the Blood Oath. She hadn't been screaming in panic or fear after all, but it had been a battle cry as she charged the creature, parrying the vicious claw attack with a flurry of blows.

"Leveling up?" he asked with a slight smile.

"Go find your own mob to battle," she returned testily, swinging at the Killer Mantis.

Kirito turned when he heard a rustling behind them, then shot her a grin. "Looks like one found me," he said, moving toward it.

The two of them took out the mantises in no time. Asuna checked her inventory for the col and scythe drop, but scowled at her display. "No scythe?" Kirito guessed.

Asuna's gaze shot up at him, and she was still annoyed. "Why? Did you get one?"

"Yeah. I can give it to you if you want."

She didn't trust him, and watched with narrowed eyes as he moved through his menu system to set up the trade. When it went through without a hitch, she frowned. "Why are you being so nice about this?"

"I don't need it," Kirito said with a shrug. "I was going to look for ores around here."

"You have the mining skill?" she asked in surprise.

Kirito scrubbed the back of his neck self consciously. "Some. My yield isn't so good, so I really have to farm an area to get what I need."

"Huh." Asuna looked at him thoughtfully. "I never would have guessed. But you don't really spend time with anyone that I know of." He looked at her sharply, and Asuna's lips twitched slightly, almost smiling at him. "In the guild, they wonder why you try to solo the front lines. The mobs out there are too tough for most to solo. It's practically suicide."

"There are a lot of guilds out there on the front lines," Kirito replied, a little self conscious.

"Yes. So why are _you_ out there?"

 _Because I can do it. Because I don't want anyone else dying if I can help it,_ he thought, but he kept his lips shut. He couldn't tell her that he was still haunted by the deaths of those he couldn't save, still too aware of the trust that he had broken. For someone like Asuna, who was active in a guild and believed she was doing good for the players as a whole, it would be impossible to explain why it was better to be alone. When the silence was too uncomfortable, he looked off into the distance. "It's a challenge," he said finally. "Those aren't," he told her, indicating the clearing where the killer mantises had been. "Sometimes it's good to test my skills."

"Just don't test them on bosses when you're all alone with no backup, okay?" Asuna insisted, concern etched onto her features. "There's no reloading this game."

Kirito nodded slowly, only too aware of the risk involved. "Yeah. Thanks."

Asuna watched as he started heading out of the clearing. "Hey, Kirito…" He turned, and she drew a slow breath. "I like soloing dungeons too, but some of them are really dangerous alone. Maybe when you're free, we could watch each others' backs."

He knew she was a strong fighter, and any boss lair she couldn't handle alone was likely to be a challenge he'd enjoy. It was touching that she would worry about him, that she would care what happened to him. It was a nice change from being alone all the time, second guessing the motives of others when he was in towns. Some players still thought being a Beater was something to hold against him. Asuna had never been that way, though.

Flashing her a smile, Kirito nodded. "Sounds good. You can message me when you're next heading out…"

"Or we can go now. If you want," she added hastily when he opened his mouth to speak. "You have your mining to do. I can't quite hit Floor 30's boss by myself yet. The last time I tried, I needed to use a teleport crystal."

That explained the leveling up. His smile widened. "Yeah. I think I'd like that."

Side by side, they headed to the portal to teleport up.

The End

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[Podfic] Forming An Alliance](https://archiveofourown.org/works/1387693) by [ZoeBug](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ZoeBug/pseuds/ZoeBug)




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